The readings from Daniel and Ezekiel condemn arrogant monarchs–Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire and a Pharaoh of Egypt who claimed the Nile River as his own. People might seem to be in charge, but God is still sovereign, the lessons remind us. In Revelation 11 God vindicates the prophetic witness of the Church. Earthly rulers still have the ability of earthly rulers to have faithful people killed, but God vindicates the martyrs. And, in John 16, Jesus, about to endure torture and execution, tells his twelve Apostles,

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!

–Verse 33, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

In Revelation 11, prior to divine victory over forces of evil, loud voices in Heaven sing,

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Messiah,

and he will reign forever and ever.

–Verse 15, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

The two passages I have quoted might seem counterintuitive. How could Jesus have conquered the world before his crucifixion by forces of the Roman Empire? And, if forces of evil remain powerful, how could the final coming of the Kingdom of God in its fullness have occurred? The best answer I can muster is to repeat the theme of Christ the King Sunday: God remains sovereign, despite all appearances to the contrary.